Minimum Loss
by Ohhotdam
Summary: AU criminal minds story! Emily and Morgan are the ones inside the libertarian ranch! Emily doesn't know Morgan is FBI, and Morgan doesn't know Emily is Interpol! Can they both make it out alive?
1. Chapter 1

Criminal minds AU fic

**Trust your own instincts. Your mistakes might as well be your own.**

Morgan approached the ranch as a feeling of dread settled deep in his stomach. He'd gotten a feeling like this before, many times actually, cconsidering his line of work. Last time one of their unsubs turned out to have a fetish for bombs and had nearly blown the whole team (Rossi, JJ, Reid, Hotch, and him) to high heaven. But here he was, lying his way into a libertarian ranch under the guise of a child victim interview expert.

He mostly felt bblah out lying to the other woman, the actual child victim interview expert. Whereas Nancy Lund knew he was an FBI agent, Emily Prentiss had no idea and was simply doing her job. He knew if things went south that she would be in trouble.

However, he had a job to do and he was going to do it. You didn't have to be an serial killer to attract the attention of the BAU, and the leader of this sect had done just that. Benjamin Cyrus was a manipilative man, lying to everyone around him, and Morgan was going to put a stop to it.

Not just for the children, but so the beautiful woman next to him got out unscathed as well. He couldn't help but notice how lovely she was, raven haired and perfectly shaped. He was a bit of a womanizer, he knew it, but maybe when this was over he would ask her out for drinks.

Emily Prentiss had long ago learned to keep her emotioand to herself. Her composure and control were one of the many things she could boast of perfecting over her long career with INTERPOL, and we're certainly some of the most useful.

For instance, now she was jiggering with excitemethey she wasfinally closing in on the arms dealer trading with Al-Qida from inside the US. Benjamin Cyrus was using his ranch as a cover to buy and sell guns, he children and women he housed masked any suspicions people had. Hopefully by the end of today he would be behind bars and his contacts inside the country caught as well.

However, on the outside she was Emily Prentiss, a child victim interview expert from Chicago. You don't have to be in Europe to attract the attention of INTERPOL, and the leader of the sect had done just that. She felt bad for lying to the (attractive) child interview expert next to her and the kind social worker, but it had to be done. She just hoped things didn't go south, because then It would be up to her to protect everyone inside, and she had no backup that wasn't thousands of miles away. Unfortunately, Her gut, was telling her that they were all on a one-way flight to Antarctica, and it had never been wrong yet.


	2. Chapter 2

I just wanted to thank everyone for the awesome feedback! I definately wasn't expecting it! This is my first criminal minds fanfic, and I'm writing this as I go along so you'll know what's going on as soon as I do! I'm typing on my iPod so I apologize if there are mistakes and for theshortness.

**I ask you to judge me by the enemies I've made.**

"The children are gathered in the school. This way." said Cyrus courteously enough, but the warning signs in Morgan's head were still going crazy. He just didn't know what was setting them off. As he held the door open for Emily, he noticed her eyes darting about in the same matter he was sure his were. Taking in everything. Maybe it was part of her job to observe th surroundings, but something about her wasn't right either.

The scent of her wafted by him as she breezed by distracted his quickly enough. He decided it must just be her that was throwing him off his game. He would have to get her out of his system when this ended.

She met his eyes and flashed him a smile that sent shivers down her spine. It was going the be a long day.

Sensing eyes in her, Emily stopped her sweep of the school room and met the suspicious, and slightly hungry, eyes of Morgan. Hoping to assuage his suspicions, she shot him a smile to end all smiles and continued observing.

An awkward rug in the corner caught her attention. The more she looked at it the more sure she was that it was covering something. A trapdoor? She would have to investigate when she had a chance.

After completing yet another interview with another happy child who expressed nothing but admiration for Cyrus, Emily was more sure than ever that this was her man. He had skillfully manipulated his way into the minds of over twenty children, gaining their loyalty and trust. She just needed an excuse to poke around.

"Something is going on at this ranch." she suggested at a lull between interviews. "they all worship him, it's unhealthy!"

Morgan eyed her with respect, he'd picked up on it too. The loyalty bordered on brainwashing, but was very subtle.

"we cannot persecute him for being good to these children, or for the parents raising them however they see fit." pointed out Lund. "In the eyes of the law they've done nothing wrong, and it's time for us to go."

"We have one more interview." interjected Morgan, "might as well finish what we started." hedidn't realize how much he would regret those words.

Halfway through the interview of who they now knew to be Cyrus' (proclaimed consensual) fifteen year old wife, the door was slammed open and three men stormed in.

_There are the guns I'm looking for. _Thought Emily wryly as she was yanked to her feet and flung against a wall. Derek slammed next to her and they shared an equally confused and worried glance with each other.

She didn't protest as one of the men roughly patted her down, searching for weapons. Luckily she had brought none, her cover hadn't allowed for one.

"I just got an interesting phone call from a reporter. " said Cyrus in a dangerously calm voice as he glared at each of them in turn. "Anything you want to tell me? About a raid?"

_It can't be the FBI! I haven't given a distress code! _Thought Morgan anxiously.

_i don't have backup for miles, and I haven't sent confirmation back! It can't be Interpol! _Rationalized a frantic Emily.

The confusion in their eyes must have shown, because Cyrus lowered his gun and motioned for his men to grab them. "they don't know." he decided.

As they were bearded through a tunnel under the rug Emily had spotted earlier, each agent was silently running the scenariosthrough their heads. None of their options were looking very good.


	3. Chapter 3

O haven't been doing this but I guess I need to: nothing criminal minds related belongs to me. I'm just messing around :(

**"sometimes you win, sometimes you loose, and sometimes it rains**"

After being hustled into the basement with the rest of the congregation, Emily began to hear the sound of guns being fired and people yelling. Even after working in with Interpol for years, the sound still made her heart race and her stomach drop to her feet.

At the moment though, she was finding it hard to concentrate on anything other than the extremely attractive man she was plastered to. The tunnel they were forced into was clearly not made to house the hundred people it currently protected, and somehow she had ended up chest-to-chest with Morgan. Her hands were pressed against his chest, and one of his arms had found its way around her lower back. Had she not been undercover, she would have comented on the protective gesture.

As it was, she was struggling to keep her composure and brainstorm at th same time.

Suddenly, Morgan's mouth was at her ear.

"I think Nancy is about to do something foolish." she craned her neck over her shoulder, eyeing the woman who was pushing her was towards the armed men guarding the entrance.

"nancy! They're shooting it out up there! You can't go up there!" Emily shouted over the noise as she turned and began to push her way towards her. She could feel Morgan at her back and briefly wondered how he was so unaffected by their current situation.

"Im an officer of the state!"she offered over her shoulder, "I can talk to them." racing towards her through the throng, Emily and Morgan were stopped just in time to see Nancy collapse, a bullet through her heart.

"Nancy!" yelled Morgan, but there was no response. Herded aside, they could only watch as Cyrus stepped over her body and called for a cease fire. Both agents noticed how unnaffected he was by the mayhem.

"I need you to trust me, ok?" said Morgan cryptically. "were gonna get out of here. I'm trained for situations like these". As they were forced into the temple with the children. Emily glanced at him strangely, but only nodded in reply.

He had no idea.

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"Rossi! Reid!" called JJ as she practically sprinted into the BAUs bullpen, "you need to see this!" she flipped to the news, and turned up the volume as a reporter babbled excitedly about a firefight at a ranch.

"That's not the ranch where Morgan is?" asked Reid, already knowing the answer as JJ nodded gravely.

"HOTCH!"

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When the phone call came through, Morgan knew it was his team. In fact, he knew it was probably Rossi or Hotch on the phone, seeing as they were the senior negotiators.

"They're going to try and get him to release the children." Emily murmured in his ear. "I don't think he'll do it, he's been training them for something like this all along."

Morgan raised his eyebrows, impressed. They were sitting next to each other in the back of the room, but one of Cyrus's men was close by, eyeing them as they whispered.

"He'll use them as a protection of sorts." his breath caressed her neck as he leaned closer. "The state police may try a raid while children are here, but the FBI won't."

They both fell into a wary silence as he guard approached them. _He looks angry._ Thought Morgan, standing up and pushing slightly infront of his female companion in a protective stance. Emily rolled her eyes and edged to the side so she could see.

"Whatcha whispering about, huh?" he sneered. "Cyrus said that evildooers would conspire against us, he was right." leveling his gun at Morgan, he jabbed it in his chest, pushing him backwards against the wall. "I'll ask you one more time."

The malicious glint in his eye turned angry as Morgan just glared silently at him. Emily's mind was racing. It was her responsibility to get everyone out alive, including Morgan. She was the only law enforcement officer in the building, and luckily for her she knew just how to remedy this situation: draw his attention to her.

"we were just wondering how long you would stick around before all the gunshots got too much for you." she taunted, internally cringing as two sets of disbelieving eyes turned to her.

_What are you doing!_Morgan's eyes screamed at her, as the man back off of him and advanced on her. She backed up slowly, untill her back hit the wall.

"You think you're funny? Huh?" Morgan knew how this was gonna go, he stepped foreward to try and draw attention back to him.

"Hey man-"

"one more word and she dies." he leveled the gun at Emily, effectively silencing Morgan. "I asked you a question."

"you asked me two actually." she smirked. He was close enough to grab her now, and he did so, wrapping one hand around her neck as he pushed her up the wall.

"why don't you tell me what you were talking about, sweetheart?" he snickered as she gasped for air, feet dangling uselessly above the ground. clawing at his hands, her only response was a strangled gasp as he slammed her against the wall repeatedly.

"hey!"Morgan surged foreward, only to be stopped as the man pointed the gun at him, keeping his choke hold on Emily.

"Calm down, I'm just teaching her a lesson about respect." he laughed, glancing back at Emily who was struggling to remain conscious. "you'll thank me later."

His laugh was cut short as Emily nailed him in the crotch with her knee. Doubling over, he released her and she fell onto all fours, gasping for air. Before Morgan could grab him, he backed against the wall, gun trained on him. Sending one vicious kick into the chest of the grounded agent, he hobbled away, back to the Chappell.

"talk to me, princess!" Morgan begged as he dropped to her knees beside her. She was flat on her back now, gasping for air and clutching her ribs. _This is my fault! I should have sen this coming. _Thought Morgan as he clutched one of her hands.

"I think that went well." gasped Emily, sending a pained smile Morgan's way.

He sighed in relief: they were going to be ok.

For now.


	4. Chapter 4

Usual disclaimer: not mine, none of it... Gah

**Three can keep a secret if two of them are dead. - Benjamin Franklin**

"One of them is dead. It wasn't us."

The chilling words were spoken in an even colder tone, stealing the breath from every agent in the room. _Not Morgan. Not Morgan. Not Morgan. _Silently begged all the profilers.

"I'll need a name." Rossi managed to choke out.

"Her name was Nancy Lund."

With a woosh, the whole room took a relieved breath, and them had the decency to feel moderately guilty for beig relieved that someone else was dead.

After a beat of silence, Rossi collected himself enough to attempt to remove some people. "Send out your wounded. I promise they will be well taken care of." he pleaded.

"With enough supplies we can take care of our own." said Cyrus, gazing out the window.

"I'll need a couple of hours to put it together."

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Rossi cautiously approached the chapel, a box of various medical supplies (and plentyoff bugs eh they could hear what was going on). He knocked, and after a few agonizing seconds durring which he half expected to be shot, a bearded man opened the door.

"Are you Dave?" asked the man in a voice that Rossi recognized from the phone.

"I am. You must be Cyrus." he followed the stranger inside, noting how calm and composed he was: he wascompletely in control of the situation and every one in the building.

"There are the women" he gestured towards the front pews, "the children and your people."

The children didn't seem too worried about anything. He couldn't help but notice with pride that Derek had deliberately placed himself by the children, so he could protect them. Everyone, except for the two child service workers, looked serene.

The only one with a visible injury was the real child service worker, the only one left alive at this point. Rossi thought her name was Emily. He would look into her when he left. She had livid bruises on her neck, fresh ones too,obviously in the shape of fingers. Cyrus seemed to notice him staring.

"They will not be harmed." Rossi didn't push the matter. Knowthere could ony escalate matters.

"I was hoping you would let me take the children with me." tried Rossi, as he was lead to the door, knowing it was hopeless.

"They stay for now." came that ever emotionless voice.

With one last shard look with Morgan, the door closed behind him. Emily thought, with a rather bruising finality.

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After Rossi's visit, Morgan knew the bugs were in place and decided it was time to get the talking started. He just needed to wait for the opportune moment. The foundations were already in place: when they first arrived he had told Cyrus he was impressed wihiatus colonies solar panels, and conversed with him about the bible and libertarian beliefs. In fact, Cyrus was approaching him now.

Squeezing Emily's knee, he motioned for her to stay as he stood and walked away.

"I'm sorry about what happened to your coworker." he said with as little emotion as ever. "My man lost his temper."

"It's ok." Morgan struggled to lie as the bile rose in his throat, "she shouldn't have antagonized him."

"Some women don't know their place." agreed Cyrus. Morgan almost laughed: a libertarian, who believed that anyone could do anything they wanted without infringing in the rights of others, was a sexist. Hypocrite.

"How do you see this ending?" asked Morgan, genuinely curious. "I've never done this sort of thing before." he lied.

"Me neither." said Cyrus, returning the favor. "God will see us through the final battle I foresee." predicted the man ominously, before walking away, signaling the end of the enigmatic conversation.

Morgan eyed the box of medical supplies, hoping the bugs had picked that up.

Cyrus wasn't planning on going down quietly. And people were going to get hurt.

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A full moon had risen above the first night of the standoff, bathing he tents and trailers of the FBI in an erethreal light. The chapel was dark though. Everyonei had returned underground to sleep, with only a few guards and the two agent remaining upstairs.

Emily and Morgan were conversing quietly, speaking of exit routes, when Cyrus and two of his cronies stormed into view.

Emily could feel the anger rolling off of him, and knew that this wasn't going to end well. Inauspiciously, she spread her weight and slid into a fighting stance, noting that her parter was curiously doing the same. _Strange for a child service worker. _She thought, as Morgan thought the exact same thing.

They had more important things to deal with though, as Cyrus pulled a gun from his waistband.

"Which one of you is it?" he asked, a slight tremble in his voice betraying the only true emotion they'd seen from him yet: anger.

"Which one of you is the FBI agent?"


	5. Chapter 5

Usual disclaimer: not mine, any of it

**Strength does not come from physical capacity. It comes from indomitable will**

A split second of silence followed his question. Both Emily and Derek shared a look of panick, before Derek slowly answered him.

"Why would you think one of us was an FBI agent?" Cyrus turned on him, forgetting entirely about Emily. _It wasn't like the woman would be an FBI agent anyway. _He thought to himself.

Morgan found himself staring down the barrel of Cyrus' pistol, and it wasn't wavering at all.

"I'm still waiting on my answer." intoned the man, glaring haughtily at Morgan.

He knew that he had to be careful. The wrong answer could send the narcissistic into a rage, and pull the trigger.

"I don't know what you're talking about." he said softly, trying to reconnect with the man as he had done earlier.

Cyrus clicked the safety off of his gun.

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Rossi and Reid were reviewing the actual past of Charles (not really Cyrus) to better understand him when JJ whirled in.

"everything okay?" inquired Rossi as she set down her bag and snatched up the remote to the tv.

"Morgan's been blown." she gasped.

The tv reported cheerfully signed Morgan's death warrant as the horrified agents looked on. In a sudden scramble, they grabbed headphones and waited with baited breath for Cyrus's reaction.

"we need to go in! Now!" Reid panicked. the tension in the room was palpable as Hotch and Rossi battled to think with their minds and not their hearts: if they went in now, people were going to die, lots of them.

"we have to wait. We cannot jeopardize everyone inside." gritted out Hotch, hating himself even as he knew it had to be done.

A tear trickled down JJ's cheek as they waited for Morgan's response.

"I dont know what you're talking about." they heard him utter calmly, trying not to antagonize him. The sound of the safety clicking off squeezed the last of the air from the room. A strangled gasp escaped from Reid's throat, when a third voice spoke.

"me. It's me. Agent Emily Prentiss, FBI."

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For the space of a heartbeat, there was silence as Cyrus turned and sized her up. Her smirk and raised eyebrow were all he needed to see to tell him that she was telling the truth.

"Well I guess it was the last thing I would have expected." he admitted, rounding on her. Hearing Morgan start to protest, he turned to one of the men with him, "make sure dr. Morgan here doesn't try anything heroic."

The pistol was replaced with a rifle, rendering Morgan immobile as the increasingly angry leader backed Emily up against the was. A tense battle of wills followed, neither willing to look away, untill Cyrus lashed out without warning. The punch he threw at Emily was deflected by her arm, and she drove an elbow into his face and ducked under him.

Howling in agony, Cyrus clutched his now broken nose and leveled his gun at Morgan. "You wouldn't want an innocent civilian gettin hurt because of you, now would you?" he asked. "Move and I put a bullet between his eyes."

Emily nodded silently and didn't protest as her hands were yanked roughly behind her back and Cyrus gripped her by her hair. Whispering in her ear, "We've got to get to know each other now." he growled as he dragged her into the other room, while Morgan could only look on in horror.

Drawing her to her feet, he hit her hard in the face, before pulling her up and repeating the action. Two swift kicks were delivered to her torso before she had the presence of mind to roll our of the way and struggle to her feet.

"you know this would be a much fairer fight if you untied me. I bet I could give you a run for your money." she panted. The carefully composed mask Cyrus had been wearing all day slipped- showing just how truly deranged he was- as she insinuated she could beat him.

Blow after angry blow landed on Emily, as she struggled to fight back. She got in a few vicious kicks, but there wasnt much she could do.

After being slung into a mirror, with cuts littering the side of her face and arms as she fell on it, she hobbled to her feet and backed away to try again.

"Would your god," she gasped, "approve of you beating a woman in his church?"

Back in the FBI control room, silence fell as the profiler knew this would send him into another rage or calm him down. JJ had walked out long ago, not being able to stand it, while Hotch was grinding his teeth into dust. Reid was clasping his hands so tightly that his knuckles were white, and Rossi looked just a little bit green.

Over the staticky bugs, they heard an intake of breath, and then a much calmer voice than they had heard in a while.

"God will forgive me for what I must do." he reasoned.

Emily's eyes bugged out as he drew his gun from his waistline. "You need to shoot me?" she inquired. "Killing a federal agent won't look so good when my people have you in custody."

Reid threw off his headphones and grabbed his head in his hands. He couldn't believe this was happening.

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"I'm not going to shoot you." he snickered, as he pistol-whipped her across the face. "I'm just tired of hearing you speak." straddling her crumpled body, he ensured she was breathing before leaving the room.

Morgan was sitting in the temple when Cyrus reentered, having been forced there after Cyrus dragged Emily away. The only evidence of the fight was the bandage over Cyrus's nose and the small cuts on his knuckles.

It was at least two hours later: Cyrus had changed, so had the guards, and he still hadn't seen the incredibly brave child services worker yet. He needed to give her a piece of his mind: she could be dead, might be at this point, he was the actual FBI agent! It was his job. Truthfully, she saved his life, Cyrus would have shot him there, too afraid to take him in a figh.

He stood quickly, thinking about what to say as he approached.

He needed to stay within this mans confidences but he also needed to find and take care of Emily. Because it was his job, not because he was increasingly becoming attached to her.

"Did you know?" asked cyrus, in controll of himself again.

" nancy introduced her to me as a child victim interview expert. In the four years I've worked with nancy, she never lied to me before." he said as earnestly as he could.

"That you know of." satisfied by his answer, Cyrus clasped him on the shoulder. "She shouldn't have lied to either of us. When she wakes up we can go ask her why."

Morgan didn't like the sound of that: that sounded like interrogation, or torture to him. And Cyrus had knocked Emily out: that was never good. As the sun rose, he knew the second day was only going to get worse that the first.

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It was like someone had pressed play over the frozen room of BAU agents as Cyrus left. Reid was the only one that didn't move, refusing to untill he heard the child service worker wake over the bugs. JJ was calling the news station, Rossi was preparing his morning call to Cyrus. Hotch was calling Garcia.

"I want everything on Emily Prentiss. No child service worker would be able to fight and keep their cool, hell, even get into that situation in the first place. Garcia, I need to know who she really is."


	6. Chapter 6

Usual disclaimer: criminal minds isn't mine

**Fear is pain arising from the anticipation of evil**

"Bupkiss. Abseloutly nothing on an Emily prentiss in any government database." reported Garcia via teleconference to the whole team. "She's not in the FBI the CIA, and she's not with child services."

"so whoever she is, she's lying about it. But why?" Asked Rossi to no one in particular.

Reid looked up, still clutching one headphone to his ear as he listened for Emily to wake up. "Well, we still don't know why the state police attempted to raid the ranch. If its a widespread issue she might be an operative from another country."

"What could a tiny ranch in the middle of the us do to attract the attention of foreign governments?" inquired JJ, mirroring the thoughts of everyone in the room.

"Well where did he get those guns from?" Prompted Hotch. "They weren't your standard hunting rifles."

"I'm on it." Gushed Garcia as the screen went black.

the team lapsed back into silence as everyone worked and waited, until Reid jumped from his chair. "She's awake! She's ok!" He yelled and everyone scrambled for a set of headphones to hear for them selves that the woman was ok. because no matter who she really was, she saved Morgan's life.

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Conciousness came back to Emily all at once, hitting her like a speedin bus. The throbbing headache. The sore muscles. The blood dripping down her face and arms. While she was out, someone had cuffed her -_ how the heck did they find handcuffs in a place like this?- _and bound her feet to a chair in the center of the room. she had also been stripped down to her sportsbra, so that a particularly deep gash could be bandaged. It hurt like a bitch too. _how sweet of them. _she thought wryly.

The way her vision swam when she she moved her head alerted her to the mild concussion she knew she had. She had no idea what time it was, but light was starting to creep through the crack underneath the door.

Why had they tied her to a chair though? Obviously they didn't want her to run away, but this was overkill. Shifting in her chair, she let out a moan as she felt her ribs protest. Tuggin at her restraints, she knew there was no way to get out of them in this condition. All she could do was wait.

She realeased a sigh, "shiiiiiiitttttt." It was going to be a long day.

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Morgan was with Cyrus as the sun began to rise, along with his right hand man who was obviously chosen for his brawn, not his brains.

"He'll be calling soon." Said Cyrus. "Dave. I don't know if we can trust him to keep his word."

"why do we need to know if he's trustworthy?" Inquired Cyrus' lackey. "We're not telling him anything. Are we?"

"We need to know if he will keep any promises he makes us during h course of any bargin we might make." Explained Morgan, gaining an approving nod from Cyrus.

"You're not one of us!" Growled the man jealously.

"He's right." interrupted an impressed Cyrus. "I need to be able to know if he will follow through on anything he promises me."

"The next time he calls you should ask him for the identity of the FBI agent." Morgan seized the opportunity, knowing the team would hear and play right into his plans.

"We already kno her identity." Pointed out the wing man, scratching his head.

morgan had to struggle not to roll his eyes. "But they don't know that!" Argued Morgan, speaking quickly. "Tell him you'll release a child, and if he tells the truth you'll know he can be trusted!"

"you're just trying to get us to release a kid!" The lackey fumed, stepping foreword menacingly. Morgan could see the vein in his forehead bulging, sweat dripping down his forehead. This man followed Cyrus unquestionably, and craved the mans attention, he had been brainwashed as well. Nothing more than a drone now, obeying. A tense stare down between him and Morgan ensued, untill Cyrus intervened.

"he's right. It's one child, and we need to know."

the man stepped back. they settled in to wait.

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"Morgan's got him." Hotch exlaimed. They had stopped listening to Emily after she had woken up, she struggled for a while, apparently restrained somehow, but fell silent. Reid still kept his headset on on low, wanting to ensure she was ok, knowing her ordeal wasn't over.

"I think it's time for my morning call."

"You can't clue him in that we know he's hurt Prentiss. Don't ask how she is, or about anything that will anger him at her again. If he asks, play along like she is our agent, it will only enrage him if he thinks we're lying."

they listened as the phone rang a few times.

"Dave?"

"yes. How is everyone today?" He asked calmly, his acting impeccable.

ignoring him, Cyrus fell right into their trap."which one of them is the FBI agent?"

"you know I can't tell you that." Feigned Rossi.

"I will release a child. And swear to you no harm will come to them from this point on." Bargained Cyrus, signaling to his lackey.

"I'm taking a huge risk here." He pretended to be defeated, and Cyrus ate it up.

"I'm sending the child out now."

"He name is Emily Prentiss." The squad held their breath, listening for his reaction.

"I think theirs a good chance we can make this work Dave." Cyrus was immensely pleased with himself, thinking he had fooled the prestigious FBI. "We will surrender tomorrow, at noon."

the dial tone buzzed in Rossi's ear, the monotone similar to Cyrus' own voice. Except it wasn't lying to him.

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it was barely an hour later when Garcia called. "Sir, I looked into the guns and whoever told you that there were no pending investigations lied to you."

hotch glanced at JJ, raising an eyebrow. "I spoke to the states attorney general myself. He assured me there were none." She growled.

"Not you're fault jelly bean," Garcia chirped, "he wasn't the only one who knew. Currently this ranch is suspected with tradin arms and running guns with Al-Qida. The USA isn't the only one investigating: Interpol, France, Israel, and said other agencies are calling for investigations. The police raid wathose response to these claims, but other agencies were obviously not informed because its on US soil."

"So Cyrus is afraid of us finding out about this, and Emily Prentiss could be an operative for any of the countries" Reid said. "I'd say that's a reason to keep this standoff going for him."

"Garcia, can you run her through-" Hotch started.

"Way ahead of you." Interrupted the analyst. "No record of her in any database so far. I'll let you know if that changes."

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Emily looked up as the door creaked open, squinting warily against the unwelcomed light that spilled in. A silhouette stood in front of her. The man was tall and well built, not carrying a weapon from what she could see. It could be any one of Cyrus' cronies, or he himself for that matter.

However, the door closed behind him and she realized she was wrong on all counts: it was Morgan, and he didn't look happy.

"You have some explaining to do."


	7. Chapter 7

usual disclaimer: anything you recognize isn't mine! And I'd like to thank everyone for the feedback, it really makes my day! Just so everyone knows, I will try to update every weekend, but I'm literally typing this up as I go, you'll know what's happening as soon as I do!

**-Waiting is painful. Forgetting is painful. But not knowing what to do is the worst kind of suffering**

. Morgan had somehow talked Cyrus into letting him tend to Emily's wounds. The first time he asked, he was told someone had already taken care of it. _nice touch from the people who beat her, _he thought, but he really did need to figure out a way to talk to her. Eventually, after the child thingy worked out with his team, and Cyrus was satisfied that Morgan was on his side, he relented and let the profiler in to change her bandages.

As he slowly pushed oped the door, he could see that Emily- if that was even her real name- was in rough shape. Her face was marred with bruises, a particularly nasty one on her cheek had a gash that no one had bothered to clean or cover. The dried blood had dripped down her face and dried in a stark juxtaposition with the dark bruises underNeath it.

He was so absorbed with the various bandages across her stomach and arms, that it took him a moment to realize that her eyes were open. By that time, he was pissed enough: at Cyrus for doing this, himself for letting it happen, even at her for taking the blame!

"You have some explaining to do." He growled. Slowly stepping foreword, placing the gauze and rags on the floor.

"Oh this?" Emily smirked, nodding at the chair she was tied to, "it's not nearly as exciting as it looks." Her smile was negated by the wince she gave as her head throbbed.

He kneeled down next to her, brandishing a bottle of water. "I think it just might be. You aren't FBI."

it wasn't a question.

This caught Emily off guard. She assumed that they just got the agency wrong, but if this man knew she had lied...

"You are the FBI agent?" She asked, her face calm but her mind reeling: this changed everything.

"Yes! Who the hell are you?" He whispered/yelled. Taking a deep breath, he calmed enough to give her a drink of water. The bottle was half empty by the time he put it down.

"God, thank you." She closed her eyes briefly. "I'm Interpol. Investigating the ranch for running guns. Why the hell are you-"

he cut her off, "This is US soil! What are you doing here! Without notifying us!" This was a lot to take in. "Just let me.. nows not the time... There are innocent people in the building, women and children, and were the only people inside who can get them out."

Emily nodded and held still as he dabbed at her cheek with a wet rag. "No one in the country knows I'm here." She sighed, "I have no backup."

"My team is handing the investigation. They're outside and have planted bugs when they brought in the medical supplies." Morgan hid his suprise at the fact that she was so unbothered with no backup.

"Do they have bugs in here?" Asked the Interpol agent, her ears reddening in a manner Morgan wouldn't have noticed if it wasn't his job to read people.

"Yes. So if he says anything, if you can get him to say anything, they will know."

"that's embarrassing." She winced, not wanting anyone to have heard her beating. "I specialize in undercover work and...interrogations." She informed the man who had moved onto the cuts littering her collar bone. "I can get him to talk."

Morgan nodded absently, slightly distracted by the flat stomach of the woman if front of him, one hand peeling back a bandage, the other placed flat against her stomach. He was entranced by her pale, smooth skin. He met eyes with her, and saw the hungry spark in them.

who was this woman? He wondered, who could take a beating meant for him and feel no resentment, who went undercover in a different country with no fear? Who was so intriguing, that he was having trouble focusing on his job.

Breaking the eye contact, he placed fresh gauze on the still-bleeding wound. An awkward silence ensued as they both were lost in their own thoughts.

"Here's my question." Emily finally said, ignoring the shiver that went up her spine as Morgan's hand grazed her bare hip. "Why has he tied me up like this? Arms I can understand, but tying my legs too? And to a chair nonetheless!"

"I profile for the FBI," confessed Morgan. "And I don't think he's done with you yet." Even as he said it, Morgan watched her face for A reaction. All he got was a nod of her head, like she expected no less.

"You can't say anything." She said, looking at him earnestly. "No matter what he does to me. it will blow the only advantage we have. You can't play the hero this time."

"I don't think I can just stand by and watch him beat you." Morgan winced at the very idea. "I couldn't."

"Trust me, Cyrus is an amature." She assured him with a sad smile. "I've had much worse beatings and endured much worse interrogations than this could possibly be."

the thought of someone hurting this beautiful woman made him see red, and he struggled to control his emotions as he took in what she had just said. He realized just how little he knew about her, he had just met her yesterday, and yet he was so attached already.

and he wanted to know more about the enigma that was Emily Prentiss.

Reluctantly, he stood and gave her a last sip of water. "I have to go before he gets suspicious."

"Thank you for the water." She smiled pensively, unconcerned now that she knew she wasn't the only agent in the building.

He turned to go, but stopped as she called out to him.

"And Morgan? When we get out of here, you owe me a drink."


	8. Chapter 8

**you need not call the devil. He comes without calling**

After hearing Emily's confession, both Hotch and Rossi looked expectantly at Garcia who promptly began to typing madly.

"Checking Interpol database now, sir... And... I have one hit!" The group gathered close around the small computer screen which contained the techie. JJ resting a hand on her hips to calm her, And Reid tapping his foot nervously. "Emily Prentiss, only child of Ambassador Prentiss. Not married, no children, been an Interpol agent for eight years she joined right outa college..." She trailed off uncertainly.

"What does she specialize in? Which country was she originally posted in for this assignment or were is she normally posted?" Hotch fired off rapidly.

"that's it sir. the rest of her file has either been deleted or never existed." A few seconds passed in silence as everyone digested this information.

"That might suggest she works deep undercover." Suggested Rossi

"Or that she's gone rogue." Blurted out Reid. "Historically," he continued eagerly, "agencies have deleted info of agents who go rogue to prevent them from being blamed for any damages or deaths which the agents caus, since they trained them to be killing machines. Even the CIA has been..." He trailed off after receiving a raised eyebrow from Hotch. "Or she probably specializes in deep cover."

"Garcia, I need you to see of you can dig up anything else on her," Hotch instructed before turning to the rest of his team. "We need to assume that Cyrus is dealing weapons like Prentis said. We need to warn the SWAT team that they might have military grade weapons, and we won't be able to run them out of ammunition."

"We know that this definitely reduces the chances of him surrendering to almost nonexistent. We know why he kept agent Prentiss alive. He wants to know what we know, how much trouble he's in." Rossi noted bleakly. Silence. They knew it was true.

"Inform SWAT then. We're going to have to go in tonight."

...

The sound of the door slamming closed jarred Emily awake. Blinking blearily, three figures came into focus: Morgan, Cyrus' right hand flunky, and the head honcho hisself. None of them looked happy.

sizing up the situation, she decided her best course of action would be to piss him off. Sounds silly, but he was prideful, therefore would be apt to blab when angry.

"Back for round two?" She asked wryly. Three glares were her only answer. She met eyes with Cyrus as he slowly approached her. He crouched in front of her, looking her in the eyes for a few moments before speaking.

"I just have a few questions for you." He forcefully grabbed her chin and tilted her head to the side, examining the bruises he had given her. "I need you to not lie to me."

"Aye-ay Captain." he tightened his hold on her before dropping her face in disgust.

"Why is the FBI investigating my ranch? We're peaceful people here." This elicited a snort from Emily.

"Peaceful?" the slap resounded around the room. Morgan's fingernails were digging into his palms, he was shaking, physically shaking, with suppressed rage as he watched Emily slowly right herself in the chair. "Case and point." A punch to the ribs left her wheezing.

"Learn. Your. Place." Hissed Cyrus, completely enraged. He took a few deep breaths, attempting to calm himself. "Why is the FBI investigating me?"

"They're extremely interested in your solar panels." A strangled gasp escaped from Morgan at her comment. "They wonder if-"

Cyrus gripped her neck with both hands. "Why are you here!?" She was beginning to see stars. "To get you... To release... The women and children... And anyone else who wants to leave." At this Cyrus released her, smirking.

"They won't leave me. I won't let them." Emily's strangled breaths filled the silence as Morgan and the cronie waited for Cyrus next move. "I don't think you're going to tell me." A Glare was his only answer. "So you can wait here. Perhaps you will be saved when The Lord comes for us." With that he stormed out. Morgan exchanged a wearly glance with Emily.

Cyrus wasn't planning in letting anyone out alive.

they needed to get the people out. Tonight.


End file.
